YOUTH FORUM: NYC, NEDI trains youth on enterprise development

National
Youth Council (NYC) in partnership with National Enterprise Development
Initiative (NEDI) has recently concluded a five-day entrepreneurship training
course for 81 young people.

Funded
by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Gambia office, the
training was held at the Rural Development Institute (RDI) in Mansakonko, Lower
River Region.

The
training course targeted voluntary returnees and potential migrants among young
people across the country, and sought to provide them with a means of
livelihood, as motivation to desist from irregular migration, and enable them
to productively manage their enterprises.

It
was also meant to establish four vibrant youth-led businesses, including
poultry projects in Busumbala, Salikenni and Kuntaur, and a gardening project
in Nyakoi village, Wuli district, under the IOM-AGAMI project.

Alagie
Jarju, NYC Programme Manager said the training course was meant to provide
young people with basic skills on how to manage their businesses.

Ousman
Sonko, Vice Principal of the Rural Development Institute, in his welcome
remarks, said enhancing the capabilities of people to free themselves from
poverty and servitude is more important than anything else.

Mr. Sonko described migration as a livelihood
strategy, saying unless governments, institutions and stakeholders provide
young people with livelihood strategies, the extent to which they would be able
to stop youths migrating would be challenging.

He
noted that it is their duty to ensure migrants have skills that would enable
them to provide their basic daily needs, since migration is a fundamental human
right. He added that it is important to acquire entrepreneurial skills and
livelihood as a lasting solution to unemployment, poverty and other negative
social vices.

Landing
Sanneh, General Manager of the National Enterprise Development Initiative said
they all have a stake with regards to migration.

Mr.
Sanneh urged participants to learn and share with each other during the course
of the training session which, he added, could help them in their daily
business plans and life. He also urged them to be committed in others to gain
from what they learned at the training course.

He
thanked NYC and IOM for recognising the plight of young people, and being ready
to develop and enhance their lives for the better.

Lamin
Darboe, Executive Director of NYC, in his keynote address, said NYC signed an
MoU with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) last year to work
on and address the issue of youth irregular migration.

The
partnership has helped them to strengthen their programmes, as well as design
new programmes informed by the needs and aspirations of back-way returnees and
potential migrants. He added that these are things they are doing to be able to
provide a means of livelihood for young people.

Mr.
Darboe pointed out that getting resources is not only enough, which was why
they organised the training activity for young people, to ensure they are able
to effectively use those resources to enable them achieve the objective they
set for themselves.

He
stated that young people constitute the majority of the population, which
should be an asset and a strength, but instead they form part of the vulnerable
groups. He observed that there are challenges, but there are people who made it
in the country, saying they are not against migration, but are against the
current mass exodus of energetic youths who are all leaving for the unknown.

Mr.
Darboe urged young people to utilize the opportunities available in the
country, adding that the training course was meant to help them get to the next
level. He called on young people to try to make their groups more organised,
credible and to be very focused on their objectives. “As young people, we are required to provide
a solution to the problems that exist in our families and communities, and not
run away from them and move out of the country,” he added.